Raking up the pet saffron agenda ahead of next year's Lok Sabha polls, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat on Thursday pitched for a grand Ram temple in Ayodhya "at the earliest" through law and accused "fundamentalist forces" of obstructing the process.
Delivering his Vijayadashami speech on the 93rd foundation day of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, he also criticized the Supreme Court verdict on Sabarimala entry for women of all ages while touching upon internal and external security issues.
"The Ram temple must be constructed at the earliest at Ramjanmbhoomi. It should not be delayed any more. The decision should be taken at the earliest. We say the government should bring legislation and construct Ram temple. Whatever steps would be taken by sants in this regard, we will stand by them," he said.
"Lord Ram does not belong to any community. He is not about Hindus and Muslims. He is an icon of India. His temple must be constructed, be it any way. The government should bring legislation."
Bhagwat's remarks assume significance against the backdrop of the Supreme Court deciding to begin hearing the title suit of the Ayodhya dispute from October 29. The VHP has decided to launch a mass campaign in favour of building a temple.
The RSS chief said a place was yet to be allotted for construction of the temple although all kinds of evidence have affirmed that there was a temple at "that place" -- where the 16th century Babri Masjid stood until it was razed on December 6, 1992.
"The matter is in court. It is getting delayed and delayed. How long it will be delayed? The Hindu society is waiting since long for the construction of the temple. People know the facts about it. But some people do politics on it. They are trying to delay the process. Had politics not been there, the temple would have been constructed long ago. It could have been constructed with the cooperation and coordination of all," he said.
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He said there was "an obvious game plan of a few elements" to stall a judicial ruling. Constructing the Ram temple "will also pave the way for an atmosphere of goodwill and oneness in the country.
"This matter of national interest is being obstructed by some fundamentalist elements and forces that play communal politics. Despite such machination, the decision regarding the ownership of the land should be expedited and the government should clear the path for the construction of the grand Ram temple through appropriate and requisite law."
Speaking on national security, Bhagwat said India needs to become self-reliant in defence production and emphasised that it should get technology and enhance domestic capacity.
"Border security and internal security are issues of foremost consideration as they ensure space and opportunity to the nation for prosperity and development.
"Fruitful efforts have been made to entwine the web of international relations by appraising the nations with our security concerns and getting their cooperation," he said.
While the government and the armed forces have displayed "clear intent to maintain peaceful and cordial relations with all countries, including neighbours", it was necessary to remain firm and make prudent use of Indian capabilities while taking bold actions wherever necessary, he said.
For this, Bhagwat said efforts were on to enhance the morale of the armed forces to make them well-equipped with the latest technologies, which is one reason India's prestige was rising in the world.
Commenting on border skirmishes, the RSS chief said the newly-formed government in Pakistan had not led to any decline in its "overt and covert provocative activities" in states like Jammu and Kashmir and Punjab ... "which was neither expected nor happened".
"We have to save ourselves, we need to become so strong that those who plan an attack will not dare to do so."
He added that security without "total self-reliance" in defence production cannot be assured and the pace of national efforts in that direction must be accelerated while continuing with the international multilateral exchanges wherever required.
On the protests over the Sabarimala temple in Kerala, he said the Supreme Court verdict had not taken into consideration the nature and premise of the tradition that had been accepted by society.
"The decisions taken without considering all aspects will neither be adopted in actual practice nor will they help in creating a new social order in tune with changing times and positions.
"The idea was to have gender equality, which is fine. However, there should have been talks (with the followers of the tradition). The faith of crores of devotees was not taken into account," he said.
In his 90-minute speech, Bhagwat cautioned against Urban Maoism and charged that it was propagating falsehood and spreading hatred in the society.
"The actual presence of Jihadi and terrorist elements in one way or other in such incidents is a common factor among all these. So the emerging conclusion is, this is a bigger canny conspiracy in collusion with forces from within and outside the country.
"It no more remains just a power politics by the opposition, but in this process, politically ambitious individuals and groups and weaker sections crushed under deprivation and neglect get drawn as ammunition unknowingly or unwillingly," he said.
Child rights activist and Nobel laureate Kailash Satyarthi was the chief guest at this year's programme.
--IANS
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